Hello,

I have my FIRST paying customer order! Yippy!!! So want to really impress this customer and the mom's that will be attending with their 7 yr olds.

Have done a search online and have found very few ideas.. did a search here but got all 'American' hits and there are way way too many to sort through to find any that related to the doll...

The only thing the customer specified is that the doll itself either needs to be on the cake or 'the cake' and that it needs to feed 15 ish... so initially I have suggested a 10" round cake with a 4-5 inch gumpaste doll on top... but she is pretty much open to anything. not sure if I should go with 2 or 4 layers and just buttercream icing or fondant? worried that the fondant will be harder for the little girl to cut... was thinking maybe a white buttercream with red and pink stars around the cake, happy birthday written on the board and the doll standing on top but that will leave a lot of white space on top so not sure what else to do ... the doll is the basic doll that wears a bluish purple shirt and jeanish capris...

Looking for ideas to make this 'special' and really get some great feedback and references .... your thoughts and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Here's an American Girl cake from MomMiller that includes the doll. Her wonderful hubby made a special stand for the doll & cake. You could PM her to see if she might give you some hints.

http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1603925

Here we go.
Here's a brief description on how MomMiller made her American doll cake. Found on Family Fun cake contest. Couldn't find any info if theres a winner yet, but if I was judging, this cake would get a perfect 10!


http://family.go.com/2010-cake-contest/animals_and_characters/american-girl-molly-doll-cake-23971/

You could try a stand up doll cake like in the below pictures. Only difference is these are dolls with dresses. First link is to someone elses cake but the bottom 2 are my creations. Just create your own cake by using an American Doll stuck down inside the cake and use the colors that go with the doll.

http://family.go.com/2010-cake-contest/animals_and_characters/american-girl-molly-doll-cake-23971/

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-photo_1710970.html

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-photo_1710963.html


If you prefer just to top a round cake, heres a cake that might give you an idea.

http://www.lakescakes.com/images/birthdaycakewithgumpastegymnast.jpg


And, One more cake idea

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cakesdusoleil/4417567178/

Hope that helps!

I just bought an American Girl Doll for my daughter and the way I see it, it is just a doll what makes the doll Unique is when you buy it you get to pick the doll that matches your daughters looks(hair color, eyes, skin color, earrings) and outfits.
I would suggest to find out the birthday girls hair, eyes, skin color and any other things like glasses braces and make the doll with the same features as the girl. Find out what her favorite color is and use those colors. Maybe ask the mom what the girl is wearing to the party and that would help you decided what to clothes to put on. The purple shirt and capri pants is the standard outfit the doll comes with when you purchase her. Good Luck.

hello! i would say ask the client for their preference when it comes to choosing icing or fondant, even when they say "do whatever you want" the person usually has some idea and our assumptions can sometimes be wrong =/ i've attached a photo of a cabbage patch doll i made, i hope the base cake helps with some ideas!

http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1852343

Thanks for the great input everyone! i do not have access to the doll so can't use one in the cake (to do something similar to MomMiller).... I've met the girl and she doesn't have glasses or braces or anything that stands out that could be made to look like her... and she has kept with the standard clothes that the doll came with - hasn't changed ...

I'll ask the mom about favorite colors and what she will be wearing... also if the doll will be dressed up for the party etc... the mom is going to check with the birthday girl about preferred flavors....

other than the stars what else is a trademark look for this doll? i know nothing about it - have looked at the website online but not sure what else to add to the cake....

It's just a doll that you can buy in all kinds of hair types, eyes, etc. to match those of a child. There are also so many clothes for that doll you can buy, entire outfits.

Some of them are period dolls, from the 1920s, 1930s, etc. and those come with their own story/history in books. There are also all kinds of pets from a pony to dogs and cats.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/51495011@N07/4950435434/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cottoncandycake/4024783919/

Here is one I made a while back- the girl loved it and it was so cute when I delivered it and the girl, her doll, and cake all matched each other!
I put disco dust on all the stars- it was hard for my camera to pick up the true color !
http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1881159&done=1

I have to ask the mom to be sure but I don't think the doll has any outfits other than the one it came with and the mom often comments that her daughter is not a girly girl...

personally I love the look of 2 tiers but don't want to give her a ton of cake (10" and 8") that is not needed in the fear that she'll think I miss judged and possibly overcharged... on the other hand I'm worried that an 8" topped with a 6" will look too small for the price being charged....

well after emailing the mom i've come to the conclusion that other then the doll being on the cake I don't think she wants an american doll theme instead the girls are having a t-shirt painting party - they all get one shirt and then will paint them! so I was thinking of a round white cake with a painters palette on top that takes up most of the top surface (love this one by CompletelyCakes: http://www.completelycakes.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Painters-Palette.jpg ), maybe a few different colored t-shirt that are sized to fit the doll draped over one side of the cake and the doll either standing or sitting in front of the cake or standing on top holding a paint brush... the doll (4-5" tall) will be much much smaller than the painters palette which will fill a 10" cake top .... do you think it will work or look odd that the doll will not be proportional to the paint palette??

Or should just skip the larger painters palette on top and just have the doll holding a palette standing on the cake with a bunch of shirts around her and paint splotches everywhere including on the shirts? if so what could I add round the sides of the cake to so that it isn't plain white? I was going to add happy birthday on the board infront...

hmmm .. i'm getting more ideas as i type

In case you go with the doll...there's one from the 70s.

http://store.americangirl.com/agshop/html/item/id/140503/ctc/XSYMAL

Forgive me if I am wrong but I'm not sure if you realize how LARGE an American girl doll is. The dolls are 18in tall--significantly larger than a Barbie. Your last post mentions a 4-5in doll--unless the girl has one of the special mini-dolls that is not what you will be dealing with.

Unless you are planning to build the cake around the doll like some of the earlier examples, I wouldn't plan for the doll to sit on top of the cake.

I would have her sit next to the cake with a paint brush (you can hold it in place with a clear hair rubber band. The large doll won't be out of proportion for a paint pallette on the cake.

If you really want to incorporate her into the design, both Michaels' and Target carry doll clothes that fit 18in fashion dolls (generic stuff much cheaper than AG). You could get a plain t-shirt or smock and splatter it with paint to match the paint splatters on the cake.

HTH
Kristy

Hi KJ62798,

Yes I know that the real doll is around 18" tall but i'm making a mini version of her - the doll will not be real size.. that's why i was worried about proportions... when the mom first asked me about making the cake I suggested a 10" round cake with a 4-5" doll replica... now just need to figure out the details

I've quoted $95 for the cake so can't add a real doll to the mix as they alone cost that much

I had actually found and sent her one of the links shown above to give her an idea: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cakesdusoleil/4417567178/.. the entire painting theme didnt' come up until today... the cake is due in 2 weeks....

I finally made the cake. This is what I came up with: http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1895227

Thank you to everyone for their input and ideas!

Great job! Your American Girl looks amazing. I can only hope to mold as well!

I just took my daughter to the American Girl Doll Store in NYC for her 7th birthday. I was thinking about making a cake based on the cafe decor. The wallpaper was large black and pink flowers. It was so pretty. We had an amazing day there!!